To tackle the problem of dependency on nature dictated agriculture and improvernthe food security situation of the population, the government of Ethiopia gave duernemphasis to irrigation development. Accordingly, a number of irrigation schemesrnwere constructed. This study was conducted with the general purpose ofrnassessing the contribution of irrigation development on household food security inrnKola Tembien Woreda, Adiha Tabia. Primary data was collected throughrnhousehold survey, key informants interviews, focus group discussion andrnpersonal observation. Relevant secondary data was also reviewed. Bothrnquantitative (descriptive statistics) and qualitative data analysis methods werernemployed. While comparing the irrigation users and rain f ed households, thernmajority of the irrigation users were found to have been able to f eed themselvesrn(38% 12 months, 24.3% more than 10 months) from their own production whilernthe non-irrigators only feed themselves from six to nine months. The trend ofrnowning assets is in a better position for irrigators (21 out of 37 irrigators) than forrnnon-irrigators (16 out of 69). In terms of modem input utilization, the irrigatorsrnhave utilized a relatively higher amount than the non irrigators. When comparingrnthe labour utilization, 63% of the irrigation users and 23% of the non-irrigationrnusers employed hired labour in their field. This signifies irrigation demands morernlabour and as a result it creates job opportunities for the surrounding population.rnThe major challenges that inhibit the optimal utilization of the irrigation schemernare lack of market, poor infrastructure, failure or cultural resistance to adoptrnmodem technologies, inefficient water utilization, inadequate government supportrnand very high fertilizer price.